His striking defense is kind of shitty. I'd noticed it in some of his other fights, but Gustaffson was the first one with A)the reach and B)the balls to really highlight it. He backs up in a straight line with his front hand out and his head down most of the time when trying to avoid punches, and I think Gustaffson can exploit that next time. The whole "run straight backwards" thing is just begging for his legs to get kicked into next week. Jones also doesn't seem to deal very well with body shots, as far as seeing them coming or getting hit with them. Who knows, maybe he's just used to his opponents being too afraid of getting clinched to go for them. If Gustaffson breaks his legs and body down next time, I think he takes it.

Definite co-sign on the running straight backwards. I think that also connects to his movement problem as a whole. His footwork is very plodding. It hadn't been a problem up to this point, because he is fantastic at using his length. Whenever opponents feel bold enough to start moving in, he starts using all of his straight kicks to keep them at a distance, where he picks them apart. If they do get past his kicks, then he can just bust out his elbows and the clinch.

I think this match showed Jones needs to work on his boxing. Its not bad by any means, but its easily his weakest overall area. He looked uncomfortable getting into punching range, or what my coach likes to call the "scary" range, against someone of his same size. It would be hard to blame him, of course, since its hard to find someone with both his size and fighting talent to put him against in practice.

This discomfort applies to the body punching this as well. Gustafsson was so versatile in the "scary range", and the body punches are a big part of any good puncher's arsenal. Jones isn't as well versed there, so he of course suffered.

I think another thing that may have worked to Gustafsson's favor is that most people (mistakenly, IMO) think "the best way to beat Jones is to find someone with crazy punches who can stuff a takedown." You heard it a lot before each previous fight, and you'll probably hear it again from Teixeira, something along the lines of "he's never been punched by a guy like me before. If I get in range, then hes finished." But since when is "if I can just get in and throw a haymaker, I'll win!" a good strategy?

I think Gustafsson showed that good movement and versatility are big keys in beating Jones. Before Gustafsson, the only round Jones ever lost was to Machida. Machida did this almost solely based on how good his movement is. Gustafsson, however, used good movement mixed with versatility, as well as rivaling Jones in size.

I think this provides about as good a "blueprint" as we can get to beat Jones. Its important to remember that Jones is incredibly well-rounded, so there probably isn't a style out there that is complete kryptonite to him. I doubt there will be a fight that ever truly "exposes" him, in the same way past greats have had glaring weaknesses exploited.

Definite co-sign on the running straight backwards. I think that also connects to his movement problem as a whole. His footwork is very plodding. It hadn't been a problem up to this point, because he is fantastic at using his length. Whenever opponents feel bold enough to start moving in, he starts using all of his straight kicks to keep them at a distance, where he picks them apart. If they do get past his kicks, then he can just bust out his elbows and the clinch.

I think this match showed Jones needs to work on his boxing. Its not bad by any means, but its easily his weakest overall area. He looked uncomfortable getting into punching range, or what my coach likes to call the "scary" range, against someone of his same size. It would be hard to blame him, of course, since its hard to find someone with both his size and fighting talent to put him against in practice.

This discomfort applies to the body punching this as well. Gustafsson was so versatile in the "scary range", and the body punches are a big part of any good puncher's arsenal. Jones isn't as well versed there, so he of course suffered.

I think another thing that may have worked to Gustafsson's favor is that most people (mistakenly, IMO) think "the best way to beat Jones is to find someone with crazy punches who can stuff a takedown." You heard it a lot before each previous fight, and you'll probably hear it again from Teixeira, something along the lines of "he's never been punched by a guy like me before. If I get in range, then hes finished." But since when is "if I can just get in and throw a haymaker, I'll win!" a good strategy?

I think Gustafsson showed that good movement and versatility are big keys in beating Jones. Before Gustafsson, the only round Jones ever lost was to Machida. Machida did this almost solely based on how good his movement is. Gustafsson, however, used good movement mixed with versatility, as well as rivaling Jones in size.

I think this provides about as good a "blueprint" as we can get to beat Jones. Its important to remember that Jones is incredibly well-rounded, so there probably isn't a style out there that is complete kryptonite to him. I doubt there will be a fight that ever truly "exposes" him, in the same way past greats have had glaring weaknesses exploited.

I know I might get some hate with this comment, but I see the problem as being stale talent in the LHW class overall. Jones will continue to dominate until some new blood starts to fill that weight class. Also I really don't understand the Jones hate that comes from so many people, I really think he just isn't good at the whole fake character thing that makes some fighters cool with the fans. He's basically the Silva of LHW now, so every fight will be a Joe Rogan comment about how "this fighter has everything needed to defeat Jones" just like he did every Silva fight.